Music Friday: Stevie Wonder Sings About the Vitality of Youth in 1983's ‘Stay Gold’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, the incomparable Stevie Wonder performs “Stay Gold,” a beautiful ballad he co-wrote for the 1983 cult movie classic, The Outsiders.

In the song inspired by Robert Frost’s 1923 poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” Wonder uses the lustrous metal as a metaphor for the precious, yet fleeting, vitality of youth.

“Stay Gold,” which runs during the opening credits of The Outsiders, starts with these memorable lyrics: “Seize upon that moment long ago / One breath away and there you will be / So young and carefree / Again you will see / That place in time… so gold.”

The Outsiders was adapted from a 1967 novel by teenage author S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton, who based the story on her own experiences in an Oklahoma high school, which was divided by rival gangs, the hardscrabble Greasers and the wealthier Socs (pronounced “soashes”).

The movie has become a cult favorite, partly because Hinton’s book is required reading in many high schools, but mostly due to the fact that every teenage actor in the cast went on to become a Hollywood A-list heartthrob. The cast included Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise.

The Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” plays a vital role in the film. Ponyboy (played by Howell) reads the poem to the injured Johnny (Macchio) while they are in hiding. “Stay gold” are Johnny’s last words before he dies. Later in the film, Ponyboy finds Johnny’s interpretation of the Frost poem: that beauty and innocence are transient and must be guarded like gold.

While Wonder penned the lyrics to “Stay Gold,” the music was composed by Francis Ford Coppola’s father, Carmine, who also contributed the memorable, original music to a number of his son’s other blockbuster films, including The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now.

Born Stevland Hardaway Morris in inner-city Detroit, Wonder was a child prodigy and musical genius — despite being blind since infancy. His first instrument was a harmonica and he was a skilled musician by the age of eight.

He was discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles at the age of 11 and was quickly signed to a five-year Motown contract by CEO Berry Gordy. Billed as Little Stevie Wonder, the singer/songwriter/musician was an instant sensation.

Now 70, Wonder has performed for six decades. Over that time, he has amassed 30 U.S. Top-10 hits, received 25 Grammy Awards and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him ninth on its list of the greatest singers of all time. Wonder is a member of both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame.

Please check out Stevie Wonder’s live performance of “Stay Gold.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Stay Gold”
Lyrics by Stevie Wonder and music by Carmine Coppola. Performed by Stevie Wonder.

Seize upon that moment long ago
One breath away and there you will be
So young and carefree
Again you will see
That place in time… so gold

Steal away into that way back when
You thought that all would last forever
But like the weather
Nothing can ever… and be in time
Stay gold

But can it be
When we can see
So vividly
A memory
And yes you say
So must the day
Too, fade away
And leave a ray of sun
So gold

Life is but a twinkling of an eye
Yet filled with sorrow and compassion
though not imagined
All things that happen
Will age too old
Though gold

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Mission to Mars: Opal May Provide Evidence of Life on the Red Planet

On Thursday, the Perseverance rover completed its seven-month, 293 million-mile journey to Mars and landed safely in the Jezero crater, which contains fields of opaline silica, better known as opal.

NASA scientists purposely targeted the Jezero crater because it was a rich source of a mineral that was likely to preserve microbial or plant material. During its two year mission, the six-wheeled, SUV-size vehicle with the most sophisticated robotic astrobiology lab ever launched will be collecting opal samples that may prove the existence of extraterrestrial life.

According to NASA, the now dry and dusty 28-mile-wide Jezero crater shows unmistakable signs of having been filled with water billions of years ago. Perseverance will begin its work near an ancient river delta that once flowed into the basin. Jezero means "lake" in many Slavic languages.

"In Jezero, we have one of the most beautifully preserved delta deposits on Mars in that crater," explained Katie Stack Morgan, the deputy project scientist for the mission.

Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley said that billions of years ago, it would have been an ideal place for microorganisms to have lived, "and it is also a wonderful place for those microorganisms to be preserved so that we can find them now."

Perseverance is a significantly upgraded version of its predecessor, Curiosity, which explored Mars in 2012. New instruments include a better drill to secure core samples, instruments to analyze Martian mineralogy, ground-penetrating radar, a weather station, high-res cameras and microphones that have captured the sounds from Mars for the first time. The first audio clips were beamed to the Earth on Saturday, February 20.

Here on Earth, fine opals are sourced mainly in Australia. Scientists believe that between 100 million and 97 million years ago, Australia’s vast inland sea, which was populated by marine dinosaurs, began retreating. As the sea regressed, a rare episode of acidic weather was taking place, exposing pyrite minerals and releasing sulphuric acid. As the surface of the basin dried further and cracked, silica-rich gel became trapped in the veins of the rock. Over time, the silica solidified to form opals.

In precious opal, the silica spheres are uniform in size and are stacked into an orderly arrangement, which gives the structure the ability to break visible white light into separate colors. An opal’s silica structure contains 3% to 20% water, according to the American Gem Society.

Credit: Perseverance rover image by NASA/JPL-Caltech. Australian opal image by James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Grand Palais Provides Design Inspiration for Paris Hilton's New Engagement Ring

Paris Hilton may have finally found her Prince Charming. Venture capitalist Carter Reum proposed to the heiress/entrepreneur over Valentine weekend with an emerald-cut diamond engagement ring fit for royalty.

The ring design by jeweler Jean Dousset — the great-great-grandson of famed French jeweler Louis Cartier — takes its inspiration from the architectural elements of the iconic Grand Palais, the exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées.

"Jean Dousset looked to the city of light when designing my one-of-a-kind engagement ring," Hilton explained on her website, parishilton.com. "Influenced by both classical and Art Nouveau motifs, it is framed by forms that resemble the vaulted glass ceiling of the Grand Palais."

Hilton named her ring "Paris" and said that it appears to be lit from within. The large center stone is flanked by two trapezoidal stones and accented with dozens of smaller stones throughout the elaborate setting.

Jewelry-industry pundits had a hard time pegging the exact carat weight of the stone and overall value of the ring. The diamond is estimated to weigh anywhere between 10 and 20 carats, and the ring value is said to be in the range of $1 million to $3 million.

The 39-year-old Reum popped the question while the couple celebrated Hilton's 40th birthday on a private island. It seems as if Hilton might have been aware of Reum's intentions because her beach attire included a Loschy crown and her signature fingerless gloves. The couple's family and friends were also on hand to share in the celebration.

In a series of Instagram posts, Hilton said that her fairytale dream came true and dished the details of the romantic proposal.

She wrote, "When you find your soulmate, you don’t just know it. You feel it. 💫 My love & I have been together since our first date, and for my birthday, he arranged a special trip to tropical paradise. 🏝️ As we walked to dinner along the beach, Carter led us to a cabana adorned with flowers and dropped to one knee. 💍 I said yes, yes to forever ❤️ There’s no one I’d rather spend forever with. ✨ Here's to Love - the Forever Kind 💋 #Engaged #SheSaidYes"

On her YouTube channel, Hilton shared a video of an artist hand painting her namesake ring in Dousset's design studio.

Credits: Ring and engagement images by Paris Hilton. Grand Palais photo by Inocybe at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.